Chhath Puja

An ancient festival of thanksgiving to the Sun God (Surya) and Chhathi Maiya, observed with rigorous fasting and offerings (arghya) to the rising and setting sun at riverbanks.

Dedicated to thanking the sun for sustaining life on Earth and seeking blessings for longevity and prosperity. It is a direct, egalitarian relationship between the devotee and the cosmos.

Spans four days of rigorous physical and mental discipline. Devotees gather at riverbanks at dusk and dawn to offer prayers to the setting and rising sun, singing haunting folk hymns.

Devotees undertake an arduous 36-hour waterless fast. They stand waist-deep in rivers, offering libations from bamboo baskets containing traditional wheat and jaggery sweets.

The worship of the setting sun is unique, symbolizing respect for the end of the day and the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth.

Archaeological and textual findings suggest these solar-worship rituals trace back over 3,000 years to the ancient Vedic period.

Chhath Puja is the most visually arresting festival in eastern India, and the least staged for outsiders. Millions of devotees converge on riverbanks, transforming the water's edge with massive canopies of sugarcane and thousands of flickering earthen lamps. The sight of fasting women standing waist-deep in the cold, dark river, waiting in silence for the sun to come up, is the hardest thing anyone does at any Indian festival. Many of them have not eaten or drunk water for around thirty-six hours.